Terry Moore Movies
Terry Moore was born Helen Koford; during her screen career she was billed as Helen Koford, Judy Ford, Jan Ford, and (from 1949) Terry Moore. She debuted onscreen at age 11 in 1940 and went on to play adolescent roles in a number of films. As an adult actress, the well-endowed Moore fell into the late-'40s/early-'50s "sexpot" mold, and was fairly busy onscreen until 1960; after that her screen work was infrequent, though she ultimately appeared in more than a half-dozen additional films. She claimed she was secretly wed to billionaire Howard Hughes in 1949, and that they were never divorced; for years she sued Hughes's estate for part of his will, and finally was given an undisclosed sum in an out-of-court settlement. She wrote a book detailing her secret life with Hughes from 1947-56, The Beauty and the Billionaire, in 1984. For her work in Come Back, Little Sheba (1952) she received a "Best Supporting Actress" Oscar nomination. She co-produced the film Beverly Hills Brat (1989), in which she also appeared. ~ All Movie Guide
Son of Lassie is about a courageous collie named Laddie, played by a dog named "Pal". A sequel to Lassie Come Home, the film stars Peter Lawford and June Lockhart as the grown-up counterparts of the characters played in the earlier film by Roddy McDowall and Elizabeth Taylor. When WW2 breaks out, young Yorkshireman Joe Carraclough (Lawford) signs up with the British air force, bringing Laddie along. The inquisitive canine sneaks aboard the plane which takes Joe on his first mission. Their aircraft hit by enemy fire, Joe and Laddie are forced to parachute into Nazi-occupied Norway. Injured in the landing, Joe lies in a daze while the dog seeks help for his master. Once Laddie ascertains that the Nazis aren't his friends, the film evolves into one long chase, as dog and master try to make their way back to their own lines?while back at home, Joe's sweetheart Priscilla (June Lockhart, who of course would later costar in the Lassie TV series) bites her nails in anticipation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Lawford, Donald Crisp, (more)
David O. Selznick's first production since 1940's Rebecca, Since You Went Away, based on Margaret Buell Wilder's bestselling novel, is a long but rewarding paean to the World War 2 "home front". Claudette Colbert plays the wife of a businessman who, though well past draft age, volunteered to serve his country as an officer (though the husband is never seen, he is "played"-via a photograph-by Neil Hamilton). Fighting back her own fears and anxieties, Colbert does her best to maintain a normal, stable household for the sake of her growing daughters Jennifer Jones and Shirley Temple. She is offered moral support by cynical-but-kindly boarder Monty Woolley, by maid Hattie McDaniel (who willing foregoes her salary "for the duration") and by Navy man and friend-of-the-family Joseph Cotten, whose relationship with Claudette remains staunchly platonic. The harsh realities of war hit home several times throughout the film, first when it seems as though Colbert's husband is missing in action, and later when Jennifer's young boyfriend, GI Robert Walker, is killed in combat. From the vantage point of the 1990s, it is easy to see why Since You Went Away scored with its wartime audiences. Though the leading characters are slightly more financially secure than most of the moviegoers of 1944, the various vignettes presented throughout-complaints about rationing and priorities, shoulder-to-shoulder sacrifices, the weekly escape to the local movie house, tender partings, joyous reunions, the returning wounded, the dreaded wire from the war department-all had the ring of truth and topicality. Even today, the film's emotional highlights, particularly the much-imitated farewell scene at the railroad station, are sufficient to bring tears to the eyes of the most jaded viewer. Enhancing the film's heartstring tugging tenfold is Max Steiner's Oscar-winning musical score. If you can remain objective while watching Since You Went Away (it isn't easy), see if you can spot Ruth Roman, Guy Madison and John Derek, making their screen debuts in microscopic roles ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Claudette Colbert, Jennifer Jones, (more)
- 1944
In this musical, a youthful trombonist is thrilled when he is allowed to play with Benny Goodman's Orchestra. Afterward he becomes insufferably egotistical and tries to start his own swing band. It's his girl friend's idea, and unfortunately he fails. He then returns to his old mill job. Fortunately, he is given another chance to play with Benny and the boys. Musical numbers include: "I'm Making Believe," (Mack Gordon, James V. Monaco), as well as "Chug-Chug-Choo-Choo-Chug," "Hey Bub, Let's Have a Ball," "Ten Days with a Baby" (Gordon, Monaco), "I Found a New Baby" (Jack Palmer, Spencer Williams), "Jersey Bounce" (Robert B. Wright, Bobby Plater, Tiny Bradshaw, Edward Johnson), "Let's Dance" (Fanny Baldridge, Gregory Stone, Joseph Bonine), "The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise" (Gene Lockhart, Ernest Seitz), "Mozart's Clarinet Quintet" (performed by Goodman and strings), "No Love, No Nothing" (Leo Robin, Harry Warren), "Rachel's Dream" (Benny Goodman), and "I Yi Yi Yi Yi, I Like You Very Much" (Gordon, Warren) ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Benny Goodman Orchestra, Linda Darnell, (more)
- 1944
Ingrid Bergman won her first of three Oscars for this suspense thriller, crafted with surprising tautness by normally genteel "women's picture" director George Cukor. Bergman stars as Paula Alquist, a late 19th century English singer studying music in Italy. However, Paula abandons her studies because she's fallen in love with dapper, handsome Gregory Anton (Charles Boyer). The couple marries and returns to the U.K. and a home inherited by Paula from her aunt, herself a famous singer, who was mysteriously murdered in the house ten years before. Once they have moved in, Gregory, who is in reality a jewel thief and the murderer of Paula's aunt, launches a campaign of terror designed to drive his new bride insane. Though Paula is certain that she sees the house's gaslights dim every evening and that there are strange noises coming from the attic, Gregory convinces Paula that she's imagining things. Gregory's efforts to make Paula unstable are aided by an impertinent maid, Nancy (teenager Angela Lansbury in her feature film debut). Meanwhile, a Scotland Yard inspector, Brian Cameron (Joseph Cotten), becomes suspicious of Gregory and sympathetic to Paula's plight. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Boyer, Ingrid Bergman, (more)
- 1943
True to Life stars Dick Powell as a radio writer in search of saleable material. He comes up with a weekly sitcom about a typical American family. To soak up inspiration, he hangs around the household of waitress Mary Martin and her parents (Ernest Truex, Mabel Paige), transcribing their conversations for use on the air. When Mary listens to the radio and discovers that Powell's attentions towards her are strictly professional, she runs to the arms of Franchot Tone. But Powell convinces her that his ardor is genuine--while musical fans are disappointed that only one song has been sung in the whole of True to Life. Devotees of two-reel comedies will note the presence of veteran second bananas Billy Bletcher and Bud Jamison as two of the "family members" in Dick Powell's radio series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mary Martin, Franchot Tone, (more)
- 1942
A pregnant Alice Faye was forced to bow out of this colorful Fox musical, which instead went to Rita Hayworth, whom the studio borrowed from Columbia. Hayworth plays the highly fictitious Sally Elliott of the title, a musical star teaming up with Indiana boy Paul Dresser (Victor Mature), a runaway who after a brief stopover in a tank town medicine show arrives in Gay Nineties New York full of verve and vigor. There he composes the title tune for the fair lady and becomes the toast of Tin Pan Alley. There are the obligatory bumps on the road along the way, of course, but everything ends, as any Fox musical should, with a grand and glorious finale. Although Fox publicity claimed that My Gal Sal was based on a My Brother Paul, a biography by the composer's brother, Theodore Dreiser, it was actually concocted from an unpublished manuscript by Dreiser and his wife Helen Richardson. The film earned Oscars™ for art and set decoration and included such Dresser songs as "On the Banks of the Wabash", "I'se Your Honey, If You Wants Me, Liza", "Come Tell Me What's Your Answer (Yes or No)" and "Mr. Volunteer. House songwriters Leo Robin and Ralph Rainger contributed "Me and My Fella" and "On the Great White Way. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rita Hayworth, Victor Mature, (more)
- 1940
The success of 1938's Kentucky prompted 20th Century-Fox to come up with the similar (though not entirely identical) horse-racing opus Maryland. After her husband (Russell Hicks) is killed during a fox hunt, Maryland matriarch Charlotte Danfield (Fay Bainter) forbids her son Lee (John Payne) from ever riding or even owning a horse. Lee obedient only until he meets lovely Linda Stewart (Brenda Joyce), the daughter of his father's ex-trainer William Stewart (Walter Brennan, doing a virtual reprise of his Kentucky characterization). In concert with Linda, Lee enters his horse in the fabled Maryland Hunt, an annual steeplechase event. The outcome of the race is instrumental in weakening Charlotte Danfield's anti-equestrian stance, but Stewart, alas, isn't around long enough to fully bask in his restored glory. Much of Maryland was filmed on location, gorgeously lensed in Technicolor by George Barnes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Walter Brennan, Fay Bainter, (more)
